2 RU teachers cleared of arson charges

Rajshahi, Dec 12 (bdprem.com)—A Rajshahi court Wednesday acquitted two Rajshahi University teachers in an arson case filed for torching a DGFI car during the August student demonstrations on the campus. In the same verdict, the court sentenced 11 more accused in the case, including 10 fugitive students, to three-year rigorous imprisonment. Rajshahi additional chief judicial magistrate Ruhul Amin handed down the verdict. The acquitted teachers are geology and mining professors Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan Shajal and Golam Sabbir Sattar Tapu. With them were also acquitted RU deputy chief information officer Sadequl Islam. Those who have been convicted of the charges are the former VC's driver Ataur Rahman Ata and RU students Ujjal, Ayenuddin, Dwipayan Sarkar, Mithhu, Sarkar Ayaz, Fakhrul Islam Shuman, Abu Sayem, Shamim Ahmed, Kazi Abdul Latif and Sakhawat Hossain. They were also fined Tk 5,000 each or serve another three months in jail in failure to pay the fines. In the wake of DU campus agitations in August, RU campus saw extensive student unrest and student-police clashes on Aug 22, when a rickshaw puller was shot dead. Rajshahi DGFI assistant director Shawkat Ali filed an arson case on Aug 23 over torching of a DGFI car during the demonstrations. On Sept 1, the investigating officer submitted the chargesheet in the case accusing 14 people including Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan Shajal and Golam Sabbir Sattar. Sarwar Jahan and Golam Sabbir and driver Ataur Rahman turned themselves in to court on Sept 11 and were sent to prison. In another case filed against six RU teachers for inciting student unrest, the verdict delivered on Dec 4 sentenced four teachers to two years in jail and acquitted the other two. The convicted teachers were subsequently released from prison after President Iajuddin Ahmed pardoned them. bdnews24.com/corr/mi/wz/ad/1715 hours